Lockhart and Stark

Lost and Found

It had been three months of searching for Tony. No luck, not even a slightest little clue to where he was.

Victoria was in a helicopter above the barren deserts of Afghanistan. She was scanning over the desert for any life forms.

"Sabrina, can you detect any life forms?" Victoria asked.

"I am detecting no life forms in the hundred mile radius that I am scanning." Sabrina replied.

"Please scan again." Victoria asked.

"Ma'am, please, we have been scanning almost everywhere in Afghanistan, for three months. Ma'am I think that it is hopeless." Sabrina said.

"His body has not been found, we have to assume that he is still alive." Victoria said.

"Ma'am you have to leave to get to a conference anyway. Maybe it's time to give up the search." Sabrina responded.

Suddenly a voice came through a walkie-talkie that was in the pocket of Victoria's black pants. Her thin blue shirt flowed in the direction of the wind and her short curly hair blew behind her.

"This is Colonel James Rhodes, I have found nothing, any luck on your end?" He asked.

Victoria grabbed the walkie-talkie and clicked the button so that he could hear her.

"No, nothing on my end. No life signatures for a hundred miles. I have to be at a conference in about twenty minutes and that is how long it is going to take to get to California. Colonel, please can you do just one more search, one more round. For me." Victoria pleaded.

"Okay, just for you Victoria." He responded.

Victoria sat down in a seat then the helicopter started turning into a jet to fly her to California. She was in tears by the time the sandy desert faded away into just ocean.

"I never got to tell him...and now I will never get the chance." She said to herself.

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Back in Afghanistan James was doing one last scan of the area. Right as he was about to call off the search, a red dot appeared on the screen in front of him. A red dot indicates a life form. He looked out the window of the helicopter and saw a man with a jacket wrapped around his head. Suddenly, the man on the ground put his hand in the air and made a peace sign.

"Touch down there! There he is, oh my gosh, Victoria you were right to believe that he was still alive." James said to himself.

The helicopter touched down in front of the man. James ran out and once he got a little bit closer he could see the man's face, it was Tony. He put his hand on Tony's shoulder and looked Tony in the face.

"Next time you're riding with me." James said.

Tony smiled and put his arm on James shoulder. The helicopter carried him all the way to a hospital on the coast of India. Once they were there they realized that in the center of Tony's chest was a glowing blue circular metallic object. Tony explained that the object was an arc reactor and it was keeping him alive.

Then they flew Tony home on a plane. James helped Tony get his arm in an arm brace across the front of his chest to hide the arc reactor. James grabbed his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. He put the phone to his ear and waited for a reply.

Tony sat down on a bed in the plane and saw James calling someone.

"Hey Rhodey, who are you calling?" Tony asked.

"Someone, someone who believed that you were still alive. We were all going to turn around because it had been three months. But this person didn't give up. They told us to search again while they were forced to leave." Rhodey replied.

"Oh, who?" Tony asked.

Rhodey smiled at Tony.

"You'll see." He replied.

Tony raised his eyebrow and shrugged. He gently laid down on the bed in the plane.